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First of all I've got to say I really like this thread; for me growing up in the early 80's Canada seemed like a smaller-scale England (a little hipper musically than the states), that just happened to be a little closer by.

Lots of bands listed here I was not aware of, like Eye Eye. I've really become fond of 80's Canadian AOR in the recent past. I knew the bigger names like Loverboy, Honeymoon Suite and Aldo Nova, but it's been fun to dig a little bit deeper lately.

The band Haywire is quintessential Canadian 80's AOR, very reminiscent of Loverboy.

Body Electric from their self-titled debut in 1984, 1st track side 1, "the more things change".

I think this is a good example of how new wave was taking on a different form by the mid-80's. While I can still hear the new wave influence, I don't really consider this 'true' new wave... a "new wave/AOR" blend? I just think new wave was something else at this point in the decade.

That is a very 1987-sounding song, obs. Nice. Like Belinda Carlisle fronting early REM? Very jangly....

I wonder if you're familiar with a radio show that used to broadcast out of Vancouver called "brave new waves". I didn't discover it until the very late 80's when a guy named Brent banbury (?) was the host. Could just barely pick it up. Played a lot of good stuff, including alternative Canadian bands. Was a fun way to discover new artists.

Brave New Waves was legendary! It was actually broadcast out of Montreal, I believe, but was carried by all/most of the regional CBC stations across Canada. On the weekends around the late 80s, there was a show on, in roughly the same time slot, called Nightlines, which was done at CBC Vancouver. It was hosted by David Wisdom. Not at all like Brave New Waves, but you could hear some cool stuff.

I actually discovered Brave New Waves by accident. I was waiting for the train, and I think the battery on my Walkman was getting low, so I flipped on the radio and heard Skinny Puppy! I only listened for a few years (~ 1987-1990), before ending up spending my evenings at the clubs, instead .

Glad to hear I wasn't the only one listening.... and thanks for the correct background information! Skinny Puppy is definitely something I would've heard listening in the late 80's ... this was the 'industrial / nettwerk / was trax' heyday.

Anyway, one early new wave song I remember on Brave New Waves was Popular Mechanix, 'Western World' --- believe they were from Winnipeg.

Funny, but I heard Talk Talk on the radio a couple of days ago on the radio. Haven't it heard it in years. This was pretty mainstream in Canada back in the day, but seems to have gotten forgotten. I think they may have opened for Platinum Blonde out east, for the Alien Shores tour.

Hmm... the arrows were completely unknown to me in the 80's and I have to believe to most Americans. We certainly had similar-SOUNDING bands, though. I suspect Canada had a lot of releases of this ilk.Recently I'm just tracking down "80s sounding'" records and discovering AOR acts I wouldn't have given the time of day back then. Lots of keyboard-based (high tech?) rock from Canada in the mid-80s. I can understand why younger listeners have a hard time discerning what was or wasn't seen as 'new wave' (although it's always so obvious to me!!)

The 80s were a great time for Canadian music. Mind you, it was probably a great time for the music industry in general, with all the stars aligning (Walkman, music videos, VHS, CDs ...). I didn't start following music until around 1983, thanks to music videos (err, and shop-lifting ).

bpdp3 wrote:I wonder if you're familiar with a radio show that used to broadcast out of Vancouver called "brave new waves". I didn't discover it until the very late 80's when a guy named Brent banbury (?) was the host. Could just barely pick it up. Played a lot of good stuff, including alternative Canadian bands. Was a fun way to discover new artists.

Never heard about the show, if someone has an old taping, an upload would be much appreciated.

Sorry, no tapes. It was on late and I remember falling asleep while taping it, but alas those tapes are history... I know they played a cool variety. Stuff like No means no, frontline assembly, boogie down productions and dinosaur jr would rub shoulders when I was listening in late 80s.

I have two psyche albums... odd band. Likeable enough synth duo. Not sure why they never caught on, at least in the states. The musical backing was always catchy, as engaging as anything Depeche Mode did. I'm not sure if the singer just didn't translate to a larger audience...? I think their songs maybe lacked the hooks even though they sound great.

Coincidently, the first time I heard of 808 State was on BNW, around 1989 or 1990. I remember Brent playing 8080808. Seen their 12"es at the store quite often, and finally picked up "The Extended Pleasure of Dance", followed by the US 12" of "Pacific" (or vice versa). Pacific 202 is one the best techno tracks ever.